Tom Vilsack wants to grow some respect for USDA

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack wants to spread the message to anyone who’ll listen: The U.S. Department of Agriculture isn’t just about farming anymore.

“This department is not appreciated,” the former Iowa governor told POLITICO in a recent interview. “We are engaged in virtually every issue and always can provide some support and some meaningful solution to a problem that is vexing folks.”

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To prove the point, he challenges anyone to name an issue that doesn’t touch the department’s portfolio, from bolstering national security by helping wean Afghan farmers from growing opium — a cash crop that funds Islamic insurgents fighting U.S. troops — to providing USDA-backed home loans as a way to repopulate the sparse countryside.

“The president’s vision of the entire economy is reflected in the success of agriculture,” he said. “This is basically the vision at work.”

His fans agree that, during his 3½-year tenure directing national farm policy, Vilsack has faithfully followed Obama’s vision while raising the profile of a relatively obscure Cabinet department and influencing the national dialogue on food production and nutrition.

Yet his tenure also reflects some of the White House’s stumbles, too, including his handling of the Shirley Sherrod firing , an embarrassing controversy centered on race, and complaints about agriculture policy from some progressives, including organic food types and food industry gadflies.

But Marion Nestle, a New York University professor and widely respected food-industry watchdog, is not one of the critics. “I have a soft spot in my heart for Vilsack — I think he’s doing a great job,” she said.

Praising his promoting small farmers, sustainable agriculture and childhood nutrition improvements, Nestle said the secretary is an important voice for “the need to revitalize rural America, and the need to have multiple forms of agriculture in addition to Big Ag. The fact that he’s talking about it, and willing to introduce programs to move these issues forward, is good.”

Nevertheless, “what he’s up against is very tough,” she said, pointing to powerful, deep-pocketed food corporations and their “control of Congress,” particularly lawmakers from farm states.

Their commitment to the status quo, Nestle said — industrialized, high-output farms with little regard to sustainability — has Vilsack tinkering around the edges of agriculture policy without the power to enact sweeping changes.

Vilsack is pushing for removal of corn, peas and potatoes from school breakfasts and lunches. Vilsack has deemed those vegetables to be unhealthy.

The USDA, under guidance of Vilsack, is imposing homosexual sensitivity training for employees. This program describes a belief marriage is between a man and woman is akin to racism. This belief in traditional marriage is not allowed within the USDA. Vilsack refers to this as "cultural transformation".

Back in August, Tom Vilsack said about food stamps, "Well, obviously, it’s putting people to work...I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it’s also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity...."

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The Center for Food Safety criticized the announcement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will once again allow unlimited, nation-wide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers USDA acknowledged in its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)....

“We’re disappointed with USDA’s decision and we will be back in court representing the interest of farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Center for Food Safety. “USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.”

- Center for Food Safety, press release, January 2011

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Of course there are the Pigford and Sherrod scandals involving Tom Vilsack.

Tom Vilsack is a known enemy of small family farms across America. Vilsack is also known to be in the pocket of international giant agribusiness, Monsanto.

Well now there's a rare and concise definiton of a fundamental problem coming from a government official, even though he surely did not intend it that way. It illustratrates how badly the government types have lost the plot.

And the:

“We are engaged in virtually every issue and always can provide some support and some meaningful solution to a problem that is vexing folks.”

Yikes! Now there's an invitation to hell. It's the classic case of "We're from the government and we're here to help". Bureaucratic nightmare horror story.

A USDA Civil Rights Division? Wow. That sums up the evil absurdity of these overbearing government types quite nicely.

If Vilsack really wants to be appreciated, he should just go far, far away and work towards retracting the government's control freak tentacles out of every aspect of American life.

You're absolutely correct about Monsanto, Okpulot.

If there ever was a evil corporation that the Lefties should be up in arms about and for once correct about vilifying, It is Monsanto. Monsanto really is bad news and the USDA is in bed with them.

USDA is not a friend of the small farmer. Who is Vilsak trying to kid? It's the ADM, Cargill, and Monsanto lobbyists that he kowtows to. One has to admire the way they've completely corrupted the meaning of the term 'organic'.

The Pigford Scandal was indeed a scandal that our corrupt media wouldn't touch for fear of political correctenss. It was one of thefirst big indicators of Eric Holder's racial corruption and politcally correct politicizationof the DoJ. Evil. Evil. Evil.

“We are engaged in virtually every issue and always can provide some support and some meaningful solution to a problem that is vexing folks.”

This pretty much explains the Government Uber Alles approach of this Administration, and is precisely what the Founders sought to limit when they ennumerated the powers of the federal government. It looks like Sec Vilsack is a corrupter of that intent, and the sad thing is, he doesn't even know it

The USDA, under guidance of Vilsack, is imposing homosexual sensitivity training for employees. This program describes a belief marriage is between a man and woman is akin to racism. This belief in traditional marriage is not allowed within the USDA. Vilsack refers to this as "cultural transformation".

Isn't it interesting how everything the Democrats touch is corrupted into a tool to advance their social engineering agenda? Every single thing they touch.

It goes a long way in helping one understand why the United States is now a failing nation in decline.

If the secretary wants more respect for his department, perhaps he should talk more publicly about the largest program under his jurisdiction, which consumes 75% of his funding and currently touches 1 in 7 Americans. Food stamps.

USDA is and directs the biggest Farm Welfare program in all the world. It is all about using taxpayers money to insure a fail-safe business model for farmers. It does everything from bailing out farmers who make bad business decisions, it provides mechanisms to insure crop prices at high levels, it does all farm related research for farmers, it does all the legwork to create markets for farmers, it provides bailouts to make farmers whole after disasters, it provides cheap credit, etcetera, etcetera...all at taxpayers expense.

chalons grows some weed, " Monsanto really is bad news and the USDA is in bed with them."

Superweed.

Genetic mismatch usually prevents conception. This is in keeping with Mother Nature. Humans can perform acts of procreation with great apes and primates, gorillas and chimpanzees, but no conception occurs because of genetic mismatch between egg genes and sperm genes.

Contrasting, mules are a result of horses and donkeys intraspecies breeding. Plants are significantly more capable of intraspecies procreation. Monsanto is producing a variety of genetically modified crops and other plants. These are "Frankenstein" plants. An ability being artificially created through manipulation of genes is these Frankenstein plants are not affected by herbicides, specifically "Roundup" made by Monsanto.

A farmer plants a Frankenstein crop. His entire field can be hit with Roundup delivered by sprayer or crop duster and his crops are not effected but weeds die. Theory is this saves time and money by not having to plow under weeds growing between rows. Not such a bad idea except those Frankenstein genes have escaped and are out in the wild.

Via honeybees doing their sex act, pollination, unwanted plants like ragweed, pigweed and horseweed are now immune to effects of herbicides. This is "superweed". Those weeds, many different weeds, cannot be killed. Those Monsanto Frankenstein superweeds are now taking over millions of acres of croplands. Weeds grow much faster than crops. Today, because of Monsanto, farmers are spending a lot more money and time simply fighting back those superweeds.

Monsanto intended to increase their profits and lockup markets by producing crops which are not effected by their Roundup herbicide. This would lead to more sales of Roundup thus more money in the pockets of Monsanto. End result of this experiment in cornering the market in food is Monsanto let loose Frankenstein superweeds upon America.

Roundup concentrate, a commercial version, is sold at $100 to $150 per gallon at Home Depot. Costs Monsanto about $25 to $30 per gallon to make Roundup herbicide.

This well exemplifies Tom Vilsack and the USDA do not have a single clue about plant science. Obama and Vilsack are protecting Monsanto in exchange for campaign funds and votes. This is "pay-to-play" political corruption.

Obama, Vilsack and Monsanto have let loose Frankenstein superweeds upon America for political expediency. Those superweeds are crowding out our food supplies from farms, and forcing small farmers out of business.

Tell ya, I would rather breed with an ugly gorilla than have Obama our president; he is a maker of socialist monsters.

No respect will be given to an agency that stole billions of taxpayer dollars to the fraud known as Pickford. Corrupt lawyers and so called farmers along with the A.G. and Vilsack will hopefully be charged one day and proven guilty for the fraud which is so vile.